Seunggi's Hold or Last-Minute Comeback... Presidential Candidates on Edge Over 'Debate'

First Presidential Election Candidate 'Four-Way Debate' on the 3rd
Intense Rivalry Among Candidates Even Before Debate Confirmation
Presidential System's Highlight: The Election Debate
High Public Interest in the US as Well, Including 'Kennedy vs Nixon'
Debate Outcome Could Determine Election Direction
Experts Say "TV Debates Are a Means to Verify Candidates' Qualifications"

The presidential candidates in their 20s will hold the first 4th TV debate on the afternoon of the 3rd. From the left, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate; Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party candidate; Sim Sang-jung, the Justice Party candidate; Ahn Cheol-soo, the People's Party candidate. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The first four-candidate TV debate for the 20th presidential election will be broadcast on three terrestrial channels on the 3rd. Prior to this, the candidates engaged in intense negotiations over detailed aspects of the debate, including the number of participants, the number of sessions, and even whether to bring reference materials.

In presidential systems, presidential debates have always been a matter of utmost interest. Voters cast their ballots or even withdraw tentative support depending on how candidates perform in the debates. Even in the United States, the originator of presidential debates, the results of debates have often shifted public opinion. This is why candidates inevitably become highly sensitive ahead of debates in South Korea, where presidential debates are mandated by the Public Official Election Act.

◆The first multi-candidate presidential debate of the 20th election held after intense negotiations

The four-candidate TV debate will be broadcast live for two hours from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the KBS studio in Seoul, and will be simultaneously aired by the three terrestrial broadcasters KBS, MBC, and SBS. The moderator is expected to be Professor Jung Kwan-yong from Kookmin University.

The candidates will debate topics such as real estate policy, diplomacy, and national security. A "5-minute total speaking time" rule will be applied, allowing each candidate to speak for a total of 5 minutes combining questions and answers. At the beginning and end of the debate, each of the four candidates will be given 30 seconds for opening and closing remarks.

The four-candidate debate is the first legally mandated debate under the Public Official Election Act. Previously, the candidates had fiercely negotiated whether to hold a separate "two-candidate debate" between Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate.

The Yoon camp opposed the four-candidate debate on the grounds that it would cause confusion rather than policy verification and proposed a two-candidate debate with Lee. However, Ahn Cheol-soo, the People’s Party presidential candidate, opposed this and filed an injunction to prohibit the broadcast of the two-candidate TV debate against the three terrestrial broadcasters. The court accepted this, effectively canceling the live broadcast of the two-candidate debate.

After disagreements over the specific format of the debate, the one-on-one debate between Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, was ultimately canceled. / Photo by Yonhap News

Subsequently, the Yoon and Lee camps agreed to hold a two-candidate debate separate from the legally mandated debate during the Lunar New Year holiday, but failed to reach an agreement on whether detailed reference materials could be brought to the debate, resulting in its cancellation.

Regarding this, Park Chan-dae, chief spokesperson for the Democratic Party’s election campaign committee, criticized in a briefing, "The People Power Party suddenly changed their stance. Their unreasonable negotiation attitude is incomprehensible. Did they never intend to debate from the start?" The People Power Party’s debate negotiation team also issued a statement saying, "Candidate Lee Jae-myung still insists on a debate without materials. Why is he stubborn about something unreasonable?" Both sides continued their tense exchanges.

◆In the U.S., the highly anticipated results can also determine the direction of the presidential election

There is a view that candidates are highly sensitive even to the detailed aspects of the debate format because presidential debates, held about a month before the election, have tremendous influence not only on voters’ perspectives but also on the election outcome.

In presidential systems, presidential debates have always been a matter of utmost interest. As the originator of TV presidential debates and a leading presidential democracy today, the United States regards TV debates as the biggest event of the presidential campaign.

The 1960 U.S. presidential debate, recorded as a historic case where the debate influenced the election outcome. Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy (left) and Republican candidate Richard Nixon (right) / Photo by Yonhap News

TV debates have decided the fate of presidential candidates. A representative example is the 1960 debates between John F. Kennedy, the Democratic presidential candidate, and Richard Nixon, the Republican candidate. These four debates during the election period were watched by about 70 million people, roughly one-third of the U.S. population at the time. Kennedy impressed with his fluent speech and freshness, while Nixon appeared pale and sweaty on camera. Ultimately, Kennedy defeated Nixon and became the U.S. president.

In South Korea, TV debates have been actively held since the 15th presidential election. Many candidates have either benefited from or suffered setbacks due to TV debates.

A representative beneficiary of TV debates was former President Kim Dae-jung, who participated in a three-candidate debate with Lee Hoi-chang of the New Korea Party and Lee In-je of the National People's Party in 1997. Kim was praised for pressing Lee Hoi-chang with specific economic figures, thereby establishing an image as a mature politician.

In the 16th presidential election TV debate, Kwon Young-gil, the Democratic Labor Party candidate, quickly gained presence with his remark, "People of the nation, are you happy now? The IMF crisis is over and the economy is said to be very good, but has your livelihood improved?"

There are also cases where TV debates backfired. In the first TV debate of the 19th presidential election in 2017, candidate Ahn Cheol-soo caused controversy with remarks such as "Am I MB (former President Lee Myung-bak)'s avatar?" and "Am I Gap Cheol-soo or Ahn Cheol-soo?" These comments were intended to point out negative attacks against him but were off-topic and caused a backlash.

During the first TV debate of the 2017 presidential election, Ahn Cheol-soo, the People's Party candidate, asked Democratic Party candidate Moon Jae-in, "Am I MB's avatar?" / Photo by YouTube capture

Ahn’s "MB avatar" remark also negatively affected voters. In a post-debate poll by the polling agency Gallup Korea, Ahn’s support rate dropped to 24%, widening the gap with then Democratic candidate Moon Jae-in. In another poll by the same agency, as many as 44% of respondents said their image of Ahn had worsened after the debate.

◆Experts: "Voters verify candidates’ abilities through TV debates"

The importance of TV debates is also reflected in research data. According to the "Analysis of the Effects of the 19th Presidential Election Candidate Debates" published by the Korean Political Science Association, among 1,000 respondents who watched the TV debates, more than half (618 people, 61.8%) said they were able to verify the candidates’ qualifications through the debates. This means voters judge presidential suitability based on candidates’ performance in debates.

Additionally, voters obtain information about candidates’ pledges and policies through TV debates during the election period. Among all respondents, 38.5% said "debates are very effective for acquiring election information," and 51.5% said they are "somewhat effective." This means 9 out of 10 voters acquire presidential election-related information through TV debates.

In other words, TV debates are an opportunity for candidates to prove their "competence" in front of voters and the most effective means of promoting their policies.

Regarding this, the association stated, "The necessity, usefulness, and interest of debates are highly recognized, and their effects were considerable," adding, "Voters prefer debate formats because they consider them good ways to verify candidates’ qualifications and abilities."

They further suggested, "The format of candidate debates should not be limited to free discussions, policy verification debates, or leadership debates among candidates on stage. It is necessary to continuously conduct research and efforts to expand the scope of discussions comprehensively, including participation by expert groups and voters."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.